Acorn Nursery is open! Both the Ain Khaled and the Al Khor branches of Acorn Nursery opened on Sunday, 23 August.
All nurseries in Qatar were closed by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Administrative Development on 9 March 2020, as part of the national effort to restrict the spread of coronavirus within the country. However, the Ministry has now determined that select nurseries have been allowed to re-open – and Acorn Nursery is one of them!
The Summer Camp began on Sunday 23 August 2020, please refer to this Summer Camp 2020 page if you would like your child to attend the camp, and Term 1 of the new academic year is planned to start on 30 August 2020.
Acorn Nursery, both in Ain Khaled and Al Khor, have responded to the detailed re-opening requirements set-out by the Ministry, the most recent developments being:
- Both branches have had the final inspection from the Ministry, where they check the precautions we have put in place for the return of students. They successfully passed both these inspections.
- All staff have been for COVID-19 testing, and all have been certified as free of coronavirus
- Final documentation has been sent to the inspectors, formally requesting written Ministry permission to re-open to students. This letter was received for the Al Khor branch some days ago. For Ain Khalid, it was received on Friday, 20 August.
PLANS FOR RE-OPENING
The Acorn team have been working hard during the recent closure to develop enhanced processes and procedures to address the issues raised by the virus pandemic.
A lot of work has been done on enhanced processes for the arrival/departure of children, cleanliness, and preventing infection. This has been submitted to the Ministry as a detailed Re-opening Plan. We will be taking all reasonable preventative measures, based on best practice from around the world, whilst being practical about the needs and abilities of such young children.
Prior to re-joining the nursery, all parents will be asked to complete a “COVID-19 Parent Agreement”. This outlines the revised expectations of parents during this difficult period of increased social distancing and infection control.
The Acorn team want the nursery to remain familiar to the children, despite the changes they will be making, and they aim to provide a safe, positive and supportive environment for your child that meets international standards.
Acorn appreciate that many adults will be feeling anxious, afraid, calm, excited and also looking forward to the reopening. Children are very resilient, and although their world has grown smaller over these last few months, some will be very upset leaving their family they will be excited at seeing their friends again.
The guidelines below give parents an overview of the coronavirus precautions we have put in place at each nursery, and how the working day will change for children, parents and staff to ensure everybody stays safe. Please read it carefully and feel free to contact us if you have any questions:
Both nurseries have now been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected against COVID-19 by a professional contractor. The classrooms are all set-up and ready to welcome your children back.
Have a look at the videos below to get an idea what you can expect:
For more information about the Acorn Nursery Summer Camp, or to enroll your child for Term 1 on 30 August, please visit the Acorn Nursery website by clicking here. If you have any questions or queries you can call Acorn Nursery at 4038 7684.